Title

Newton Squared

Problem Scenario

If cornstarch and water are poured down a drain together there is a possibility of a colloid forming, and it could clog the drain.

Broad Question

Can a colloid drip through a hole in a bucket?

Specific Question

What size hole and mixture can a colloid drip through?

Hypothesis

The more the water in the mixture and the bigger the hole, the mixture will drip.

Graph of Hypothesis

If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention, than to any other talent.
--Isaac Newton--

Variables

Independent Variable:

• Colloid mixture

Dependent Variable:

• Amount of liquid

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

• Colloid container
• Same cornstarch brand
• Water source

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

Colloidal Solution: Or a Non-Newtonian Fluid, is a mixture that when it has pressure on it, will behave like a solid. But with no pressure, the fluid will behave like a liquid.

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General Plan

I will create a contraption to hold a bucket with holes drilled in it. Then I will place a cup underneath to catch the liquid when it drips through. I will pour the mixture into the bucket and observe how it drips. I will repeat for each mixture, and do the entire thing over again for different sized holes.

Potential Problems And Solutions

• Mixtures don't work- experiment and find what works

Safety Or Environmental Concerns

• None at the moment

Experimental Design

Number Of Trials:

2

Number Of Subjects In Each trial:

4

When data will be collected

During the experiment.

Number of Observations:

7

Where will data be collected?:

In a data table.

Resources and Budget Table

Resource	Place I will get resource	Cost
Cornstarch	Hannaford	$10.00
Water	Sink @ Home	Free
Bucket	Home	Free
Drill/Bits	" "	Free
Wood	" "	Free
Poster Board	Staples	$5.00
Poster Supplies	" "	$5.00-$15.00

Data Table

	Hole 1	Hole 2	Hole 3	Hole 4
Mixture 1
Mixture 2
Mixture 3

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Background Research

In my experiment, testing whether varying mixtures of a colloid could drip through different sized holes, there were a few things I didn't know about it. So I did a little searching, and found out those things. They astounded me, as I did not expect them to be that way. Now I shall tell you about my findings.

The particle structure of a colloid is when the particles a much larger than the atoms, but not visible to the naked eye. This in fact, this works for any substance that has at least one dimension that is encompassed in the range of 10^ -7 to 10^ -3 cm. The particles are bigger than in a true solution, but smaller than a coarse solution. Now a colloid can be rubber, smoke, or even milk. But milk is a colloidal solution, which is what I am studying.

The difference between a colloid and a colloidal solution is quite simple. A colloidal solution is a liquid, not a solid or a gas. In fact, a colloidal solution is quite simple to make, as you can tell by my experiment. But the science is much more complicated, especially the particles, as briefly explained before. In fact, take glass as an example. It's a colloid, but the particles are so compact that if one wants to move the others have to, so it takes a long time for it to move. You can see these effects if you look at an old window, for they are warped a lot of times so it looks funny through it.

He colloidal solution was discovered by a Scottish chemisist named Thomas Graham in the year 1860. He found that certain substances like glue or gel can be separated in to other substances, such as salt. The process he did this in was called dialysis. For those of you who don't know what that is, dialysis is when you remove excess water or waste from blood and other substances like it.

In conclusion with colloids and colloidal solutions, they are very complicated, yet can be simple to make. They have a complicated particle particle structure, having many rules that apply to them, but don't apply to anything else, like that their particles scatter light. They do things that nothing else can, like switch between a solid state and a liquid state, which is one of the reasons I did my experiment.

References

"Colloid." Web. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colloid>.
"Non Newtonian Fluid." -- Isaac Newton. Web. 23 Mar. 2012. <http://www.easy-science-experiments.com/non-newtonian.html>.
"Colloid (physics)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/125898/colloid>.
Infoplease. Infoplease. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. <http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A0812901.html>.

Detailed Procedure

1. I create a stand that will hold my bucket with the holes in i , and it has enough room below for another container to collect the dripping liquid.
2. I drill the holes in my bucket, sizes 3/16 in., 1/4 in., 5/16 in., 1/2 in.
3. Place the bucket with holes in it in the hole at the top of the stand, the hole being big enough for about half the bucket to fit through.
4. Put a container underneath to catch the liquid.
5. Pour the first colloid mixture in. (The mixtures, in order are 2:1, cornstarch to water, 3 1/2:3, and 1:2 1/4.)
6. In a data table, record how each hole drips the solution.
7. Repeat for each mixture.
8. When done with the initial mixtures, cover up the holes and drill new ones, sized 1/16 in., 5/64 in., 3/32 in., 7/64 in.
9. Then repeat the pouring and collection process

Diagram

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Results

All Raw Data

Trial 1

	Hole 1	Hole 2	Hole 3	Hole 4
Mixture 1	pour	pour and drip	pour and drip	pour and drip
Mixture 2	pour	" "	" "	" "
Mixture 3	pour and drip	" "	" "	" "

Trial 2

	Hole 1	Hole 2	Hole 3	Hole 4
Mixture 1	pour and drip	pour and drip	pour and drip	pour and drip
Mixture 2	" "	" "	pour	pour
Mixture 3	drip	drip	drip	drip

Graphs

Overall data

Trial 1

Trail 2

Photos

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Data Analysis

My overall data shows that every mixture of colloid I experimented with, did both dripping and pouring. My data also shows that pouring and dripping were equal, at four holes each. To go with the dripping, it only dripped for one of the mixture, which happened to be the thickest one.

Conclusion

Overall, my data supports my hypothesis for the most part. It shows that the more liquid in the mixture, and the bigger the hole, it can drip, but will also pour the liquid as well as do both at the same time.

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Discussion

My data looks like that the mire liquid in the mixture and the larger the hole it will pour; but vice versa with dripping. I think my experiment could use some improvement, using a variety of solutions and mixtures as well as the range of the hols size. I could have looked into this more, such as seeing how colloids are used in every day life or what kinds of colloids appear most often and where they use them.

Benefit to Community and/or Science

After some people see my wiki page or my poster board at the science fairs they could a better understanding of a simple yet complicated law of physics. It could also help teachers make a fun science experiment for younger kids.

Abstract

I got the idea for my experiment from the television show Mythbusters. They did an experiment trying to walk on water, and ended up making a colloid and walked on it. So I said 'Hey, why not search for more ideas to do with a colloid.' So I looked around, and found this one using paper instead of a bucket. I wanted to vary the mixture in slight ways, by thickening it or thinning it. So I did the bucket experiment, finding the thinner the mixture, the more it pours than drips, but only if it has a large enough hole, and with the thicker ones both pouring and dripping when the holes are the right size.